Hoarder Barbie Trashes Her Dreamhouse

Partially inspired by the reality television show Hoarders, artist and photographer Carrie M. Becker has imagined “a more ‘current’ view of Barbie’s lifestyle” in the image set, Barbie Trashes Her Dreamhouse. She created these amazingly detailed 1/6th scale models of various “dreamhouse” rooms lying in squalor as part of her artist-in-residency at the McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, North Carolina using “repurposed generic barbie toys” and other small doll pieces, in addition to many handmade items.

As ridiculous as it would sound, in light of my many-year obsession with the Japanese culture of the small, Kawaii is a relatively new term to me. At it’s core, the word means “childlike”, “sweet”, and “innocent”, with darker connotations such as “vulnerable”, “weak” and “socially inexperienced”.

Why should this matter? I’ve been trying to justify my collection and the time “wasted” setting up scenes to shoot them. I make haste to liken this process to one I knew more formally during the time spent photographing room scenes for commercial purposes. I am doing the same thing, albeit on a smaller (literally!) scale. But where does the drive stem from? Why miniature? Why small things associated with my youth? Why now? I have been temped by a growing subculture.

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